From the first scenes, you can already tell that the production value once more dropped a notch. The acting isn't up to par either. There are way too many flashbacks, omens and other cheap plot devices this franchise has been relying on for too long. It weighs on us, the audience, and it’s starting to get out of control. Both the performances and the story are becoming hard to sit through.

It does have its moment, though, in how it handles its murder scenes, for instance, but lacks effective build-up and contains no scary scene living up to the original film. At its core, it’s a romantic ghost story supported by a procedural. In those terms, it respects its own formula. The problem is that it brings nothing new that the slightly more competent Part 2 didn't already cover.

Perhaps Candyman 3’s biggest mistake is to use the previous films as a template while disregarding Clive Barker’s intrinsic atmosphere. His movies always kindled unusual emotions, were dense in content, but didn't spell out every answer to their mysteries the way Candyman 3 does. This film is a bad sequel because it can’t deal with the mythos, but it is a decent stand-alone film nonetheless.